EdvestinU Private Student Loans: 2025 Review

EdvestinU Snapshot

EdvestinU is a student loan program from the nonprofit New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corp that offers private student loans and student loan refinancing to students across the country. EdvestinU private student loans are available nationwide to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as international students with an eligible cosigner. It is best if you are looking to borrow from a non-profit lender that provides competitive interest rates, flexible repayment plans, and extended deferment/forbearance.

Fixed APR Range: 4.52% to 9.04%

Variable APR Range: 8.12% to 11.02%

Loan Amounts: $1,000 up to the total cost of attendance

Minimum Credit Score: 750

Best Features	Drawbacks
• Work with a non-profit, rather than a traditional lender • Variety of repayment options • Exclusive benefits for New Hampshire residents	• You can’t see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check • Not accessible to students enrolled less than half-time • Strict cosigner release policy

Best Features of EdvestinU Student Loans

Work with a non-profit, rather than a traditional lender

EdvestinU has been helping families across the country finance the cost of their college education for nearly 60 years. EdvestinU is not affiliated with any school, and as a non-profit, its goal is to save you money by offering the most competitive rates possible. While EdvestinU doesn’t have the name recognition that some of the traditional banks and online lenders have, it offers low rates and personalized customer service.

Variety of repayment options

EdvestinU offers you three repayment options for your student loans, with terms ranging from 7, 10, or 15 years. If possible, it’s beneficial to make in-school loan payments in order to reduce the amount of interest you pay over time.

Repayment Option	Terms	Pros	Cons
Immediate Repayment	Make full payments as soon as the loan is disbursed, while you’re still in school.	You will minimize the interest you pay, resulting in the greatest savings. Because you’re paying down both interest and principal while you’re still in school, you’ll already have made a good start on repaying your loan by the time you graduate.	For many students, it’s not realistic to make full monthly payments while still enrolled in college.
Interest-Only Repayment	Pay only interest while you’re in school.	Your monthly payments will be more manageable, and your loan balance won’t grow while you’re in school.	You won’t make any progress paying down your loan balance while you’re a student. But at least you won’t owe more than you borrowed when it’s time to start making full payments.
Deferred Repayment	Don’t make any payments while you’re in school. Begin repayment after graduation or 6 months after graduation.	You won’t have to make payments while you’re in school.	You will likely pay the highest overall cost since unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

Exclusive benefits for New Hampshire residents

EdvestinU, as well as many other private student lenders, offers a 0.25% discount if you enable automatic payments. This is the lender’s way of incentivizing you to turn on autopay so that you don’t miss a payment.

EdvestinU has taken this to another level by offering New Hampshire residents a 1% rate reduction on fixed rate loans and a 0.25% rate reduction on variable loans.

EdvestinU also offers in-person support and counseling to borrowers from New Hampshire.

If you’re a New Hampshire resident, EdvestinU might be the best option for you.

Drawbacks of EdvestinU Student Loans

You can’t see if you’ll qualify and at what rate without a hard credit check

Unlike many other online lenders, EdvestinU does not allow you to qualify and receive rate estimates without undergoing a hard credit check. This means you will have to undergo a hard credit check, which temporarily hurts your credit, in order to see if you qualify and at what rate. If you want to see if you qualify and at what rate with over 15 different lenders, try our 2-minute form. It’s quick, easy, and does not impact your credit score.

Not accessible to students enrolled less than half-time

If you are not enrolled in school at least half-time, you are ineligible for EdvestinU student loans. If you’re studying less than half-time, you may want to consider College Ave.

Strict cosigner release policy

Given that most private student loans require a cosigner, it would be nice to see EdvestinU offer more flexibility with cosigner release (i.e. taking the cosigner’s name off the loan and removing the cosigner’s responsibility to pay). As of now, EdvestinU has a strict cosigner release policy that is only available for borrowers who meet the following criteria:

The borrower has a credit score greater than 749
The borrower has a minimum gross income of $30,000
The borrower has made 36 months of consecutive & on-time payments

EdvestinU Student Loans: The Nuts and Bolts

Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms

Fixed APR Range	4.52% to 9.04%
Variable APR Range	8.12% to 11.02%
Loan Terms	7, 10, or 15 years
Loan Amounts	$1,000 up to the cost of attendance
Application or Origination Fee	No.
Prepayment Penalty	No.
Late Fees	Yes, five percent of your monthly payment.

Eligibility Requirements – Financial

Minimum Credit Score	750
Minimum Income	$30,000.
Typical Credit Score of Approved Borrowers or Cosigners	781
Typical Credit Score of Approved Cosigners	787
Typical Income of Approved Borrower	$59,000+
Typical Income of Approved Cosigners	$106,000+
Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio	Not considered.
Ability to qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy	Yes, after 10 years have passed.

Eligibility Requirements – Personal

Citizenship	Must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.
Location	Available to borrowers in all 50 states.
Must be enrolled half-time or more	Yes.
School requirements	Borrowers must be attending an eligible Title IV or nonprofit school.
Percentage of borrowers who have a cosigner	90%+.

Repayment Options

In-school Repayment Options	Immediate repayment: Make full payments as soon as the loan is disbursed, while you’re in school. Interest-only repayment: Only pay interest while you’re in school. Deferred repayment: EdvestinU does not offer full in-school deferment.
In-school Deferment	EdvestinU does not offer full in-school deferment.
Military Deferment	Yes.
Economic Hardship Deferment	Yes, borrowers are eligible for up to 12 months of economic hardship deferment over the life of the loan, given in 3 month increments.
Forbearance	Discretionary forbearance is available for twelve months.
Cosigner Release	Yes (after 36 consecutive on time payments). Borrowers must also have a credit score greater than 749 and a minimum gross income of $30,000.
Death or Disability Discharge	Yes. The loan will be forgiven if the borrower dies, but not in instances of total and permanent disability.
Loan discharge if cosigner dies or becomes disabled	Did not disclose.
Autopay	Allows for surplus payments via autopay: Yes. Allows for biweekly payments via autopay: No.

Customer Service

Loan Servicer	Firstmark Services
In-house Customer Service Team	Yes.
Process for Escalating Concerns	Yes.
Borrowers get assigned a personal customer service representative	No, but in-person one-on-one assistance is available.
Average time from application to approval	One week.

Before you take out a loan from EdvestinU…

Complete the Sparrow application to compare real rates from more than 15 different lenders to make sure you’re getting the best rate possible.

See real rates, not rate ranges or estimates: Sparrow’s rates mimic those of our lenders so you know what rate you’re getting from each lender.

No impact on your credit score: Checking your rates on Sparrow won’t impact your credit score.

Data Privacy: Sparrow doesn’t sell your information, so don’t worry about getting calls from that random number that won’t leave you alone.

FAQ

Is EdvestinU a legitimate lender?

Yes, EdvestinU is a legitimate lender that has nearly 60 years of experience lending and refinancing in higher education.

Is EdvestinU available in all 50 states?

Yes, EdvestinU is available in all 50 states. While the nonprofit is based out of New Hampshire, it will lend to students nationwide. EdvestinU also lends to international students with an eligible cosigner.

How long does it take to get an EdvestinU student loan?

Submitting an application through EdvestinU takes a few minutes. Once you’ve submitted your loan application, EdvestinU will instantaneously return a decision about your eligibility. If you qualify, you will receive the rate and terms of your loan.

It may take some time to actually receive your loan. Your school must approve the loan which may take between four to six weeks.

What happens if I don’t qualify for an EdvestinU student loan?

If you don’t qualify for an EdvestinU student loan, the company will inform you why. Depending on the reason, you may consider applying with a qualified cosigner or trying with a different lender. To check your rates across multiple lenders at once, try using Sparrow’s free search engine. In just two minutes, you can receive real, personalized offers from over 15 different lenders ready to help you. And best of all, it won’t impact your credit score.

Are EdvestinU student loans federal or private?

EdvestinU loans are private loans. Before you take out a private student loan, we recommend that you exhaust your federal funding options, including grants and scholarships.

Does applying for a loan through EdvestinU hurt my credit score?

Yes. In order to check your eligibility and receive your rate, EdvestinU will conduct a hard credit check. A hard credit check may temporarily impact your credit score.

See EdvestinU‘s disclosures here.